Teacher Arrested Where’s Fay Ruotolo?

Before I launch into the latest arrest connected with the Norwalk Public School System (NPS), isn’t it time we ask ourselves why we are here again? One answer, Fay Rutolo is dangerously incompetent. It’s not as if there’s an absence of a long legal trail of incidents that the NPS has had to defend itself against. It’s not as if parents, teachers and even principals haven’t been clamoring for action on personnel issues for years.

The latest incident, soon to hit the headlines in the main stream media, is that a BMHS art teacher, John Tate, 54 from Trumbull, has been arrested for sexual assault last night on a female student. According to the police report he is being held on a $150k bond. But that’s not the only one currently under Ruotolo’s lame investigation. There’s an alleged female substitute teacher at Brigg’s under investigation for “sexual relations” with male students and an ELL aide who allegedly is under investigation for fondling a female student.

As details emerge, I’ll post them, but after the arrest of Stacy Lore, you would think that Ruotolo would be in hot water over her many years of inaction on that score. This is just unacceptable.

UPDATE 12:17 pm Friday:

The NPD press release:

Norwalk Police Investigate Sexual Assault

On April 27, 2010 an anonymous tip was received through the Norwalk Police Department website. The tip alleged that a Brien McMahon High School teacher, John Tate, was involved in a sexual relationship with a female student. The tip was turned over to the Norwalk Police Department Youth Bureau who initiated a complete investigation.

The investigation confirmed that John Tate is in fact employed at Brien McMahon High School as head of the Arts Department. It was discovered Tate was also under investigation by Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) for allegations of inappropriate conduct with students. Tate had been placed on leave pending the outcome of the DFC investigation.

Interviews revealed that Tate, age 54, was involved in an intimate relationship with a 17 year old female student and engaged in sexual encounters both on and off school grounds. The investigation also revealed that Tate provided the student with alcoholic beverages on at least one occasion.

Search and Seizure Warrants were obtained from the Superior Court for property belonging to Tate that contained evidence of a crime. The search warrants were served and several items were seized. An arrest warrant affidavit was reviewed and approved by the Superior Court for John Tate for the Charge of Sexual Assault 2nd Degree. Bond was set by the court at $150,000.00.

Investigators took Tate into custody at his residence on April 29, 2010 without incident. Tate did not post bond and was transferred to Norwalk Superior Court for arraignment this morning.

The investigation remains open and additional criminal charges may follow.

Arrested: Charge: Sexual Assault 2nd Degree

John Randy Tate Class C Felony

7 Edgewood Avenue Bond: $150,000.00

Trumbull, Connecticut

DOB 04/17/1956

UPDATE: post has been changed to reflect it is a Brigg’s substitute teacher.

Newer Comments →
  • State Help Desperately Needed

    Shocking? Norwalk? Unbelievable? Maybe not. Outragiously shamefull? Without doubt. Digusting disappointment? How far can we fall? Now who was it that wanted a raise? Marks knows what she is getting into? Really? This is a town where you want to raise a family? Well perhaps not.
    Help may be on the way.
    Legislation crafted this week is designed to have significant impact on our education system and its systemic problems. New requirements for teachers and administrators and yes BOE members. Hear that BOE? You guys are going back to school, if you choose to believe you do not need course’s in management, fine, thank you for your service. We have the law, well ,we will in 30 days. Begining June 1, 2010 in school susepnsions will now be fully enforced by the state. Break the law and the state now has the teeth to step in and relieve everyone. Norwalk already qualifies under the requirements for disolving the local BOE. Its more than obvious Norwalk needs help. So for you flunkies on the board, see ya… in the food market perhaps but not in control of 11,ooo students futures.

  • OLD TIMER

    How did DCF get involved and this guy “placed on leave” before anyone told the Police ? It sounds like the police got an anonymous tip, and nobody in the school system bothered to call them. If anyone in the system knew this was going on and failed to immediately call the police, heads should roll. The police should find out who notified DCF, without notifying the police, and charge that person as an accessory. It is just dumb luck the police were able to locate the guy after the school warned him he was in trouble and gave him a headstart.

  • seriously

    So… this guy is molesting children and still got a lighter bail than Stacy? Amazing.

    • Apathetic Voter

      Molesting what “children”?? A 17-year-old is an adult in the eyes of the law. Besides, it’s completely apparent from the story that the student was compliant. If this was a case of “rape” the words “rape” or “sexual assault” would have been mentioned in the arrest warrant and the article would have said so, and the word “relationship” would not have been used at all, which conveys the idea that the situation was not only ongoing, but long-term and consensual. And at 17 a young woman is more than capable of knowing right from wrong and of saying yes or no, and furthermore FAR more capable of being able to go to authorities at the first sign of inappropriate behavior THAT SHE DID NOT WISH TO ALLOW TO TAKE PLACE.

      This is more along the lines of the LeTourneau case. Although here you have the good old double standard at play. It’s seen as more okay for a woman teacher to have a “relationship” with a male student than it is for a male teacher to have a “relationship” with a female student.

      • BA

        Wait… what? Are you kidding me? A 17 yo IS A CHILD you moron. And as parents – we send our children to school with an expectation that their teacher is not going to have sex with them – no matter what. I don’t care if the student draped her naked body over his desk and begged him for sex. His job is to say NO and to protect that child – not take advantage of her.

        Your comment is very disturbing and I expect you are equally disturbed.

        • I.B.

          Exactly BA…..a 17 year old is still a child. Anyone thinking otherwise obviously does not have children or was never a teen themselves. It’s the age where guidance is needed by the teachers and parents. However, I have seen many situations where girls have lied about these things and years later they tell the truth but the damage was already done to the man’s reputation. So for now I will stay neutral until a verdict.

          • Just Askin’

            Ah, I’m seeing a disconnect here. Don’t the school health centers give out condoms because the students “are going to have sex anyway?” I’m not saying it’s right, wrong or otherwise, but it seems like a double standard. “Okay kids, we know you are going to have sex, so here are some condoms. But don’t have sex with anybody over 18, a teacher or a police officer.” I fully agree that the teachers and the police officers should be smart enough not to mess around with those under 18, but I do question the message being presented to the students. Where’s the line, that a 17 year old is having sex, that the 17 year old is having sex with an adult, or the 17 year old is having sex with an adult who is a teacher?

  • Sono Resident

    Where is human relations ‘expert’ Bruce Morris? In Hartford and not looking out for students?

  • Correction

    The Briggs ‘teacher’ you refer to was actually a substitute teacher who was there for one day.

    • Correction

      Thanks for the correction Turfgrrl!

  • Moccia Must go! Moccia Must go!

    Enough said.

    • Apathetic Voter

      As if any of this had anything remotely to do with Moccia.

    • turfgrrl

      You are distracting accountability from the parties that are directly responsible for this sad state of affairs. The fact is, that the responsibility of central office administrators is to manage the school system, not systemically ignore problems and bamboozle the BOE with b.s.

  • One man’s opinion

    Good to see that someone corrected the mistake about Briggs– the problem involved a sub from what the kids have told me. The Briggs staff are great folks– hard workers who really help their kids a lot.

  • Teacher’s Aide

    This is only the tip of the iceberg. How many complaints have been swept under the rug? It is not just Fay.

  • Piqued Livid

    I’m sorry, but in the two schools I have seen up close, the teachers are dysfunctional and immature. Their principals are well-connected. I’ve seen good schools like SbS, Brookside and others, but the overall situation in Norwalk needs to stop. I have never understood why parents, tax payers mind you, have not taken their power and shut down the nonsense. It totally truly baffles me.

    I remember when a couple of years ago, there were over 400 posts about getting rid of Corda. Many in Central Office were also named (I recall the statement “fleecing us” many a time), some board members were named, but the bottom line is that none of this could go on w/o the consensus of the tax payers or voters.

    In doing research I found that Norwalk School System was once a system to be emulated. This goes back 2 0 -30 years. What happened? Simply what happened? Could we guess at words like power-hungry, self-serving, strange bedfellows….?

    These children only get one chance at childhood and education. My friends, we are blowing it BIG TIME and those with whom we are blowing it are being paid mightily.

    I truly feel sorry for those of you who know and knew what is going on and allow the covers in order to keep your cushy positions in the system or the community. AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. Everything done in darkness will come to light and when those walls come tumbling down….baby, baby, baby….what will you do when there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide?

    http://latter-rain.com/images/chess.jpg

    Jeremiah 23:24: “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? Saith the Lord.”

    Isaiah 29:15: “Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, who seeth us? And who knoweth us?

    Amos 9:2 ” Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down.”

    Finally, how many warnings will we receive, how many incidences will happen before we “get it. I’m sorry Turf, I respect your ground (no pun intended), and I don’t want to be overly philosophical or spiritual, but enough is enough.
    Even if you are not a believer, look at the following scripture like a story and symbolically compare to what is going on with the haughtiness and the hard hearts that result from warnings meant to make us humble in order to really live and serve/help others: http://www.injil.org/TWOR/32.html

    I’d love to know what is on BOB DUFF’S and ARTIE KASSIMIS’ , JOE MANN’S AND SUE HAYNIE’S MINDS regarding the state of education in Norwalk. I don’t want to hear any fluff. I don’t want to hear any political positioning or grandstanding. I would love to hear straight talk with proposed answers.

    Community WAKE UP from your inertia. WAKE UP and stop the madness!

    • Artie Kassimis

      Dear Piqued Livid,

      My wife was a victim of sexual abuse as a teenager and I have seen firsthand the emotional struggles that she goes through. Sexual abuse has NO place in our public schools or any place for that matter. If you really want to know how I feel about it – it disgusts me to no end!

      As a minister, I am a mandated reporter for any suspected type of abuse on children. There are always signs that accompany incidents such as these and we are trained to properly discern them. We conduct full background checks on all our volunteers that have contact with children. We also train them on looking for signs of abuse.

      A person does not wake up one day and decide to abuse someone. One cannot carry out an immoral act such as this without there being signs. The signs were there and school officials (amongst others) either ignored them or missed them completely. Training will solve the latter issue but if school officials ignored the signs, warnings or complaints then they MUST be held accountable. A thorough investigation has to commence immediately!

      Above all, I ask that the victim and her family be given all the help they need. My heart goes out to her and my prayers are with her and her family. My wife and I are available to help in anyway we can. Please, let us not forget her!

  • OLD TIMER

    A pathetic voter needs to learn to read.
    The charge is sexual assault, 2nd. The section is 53a-71 and it prohibits sexual intercourse, under any circumstance if (4) such other person is less than eighteen years old and the actor is such person’s guardian or otherwise responsible for the general supervision of such person’s welfare; It is a felony crime. The PD press release makes it clear that the accused did not post a bond and is in custody.

    • Apathetic Voter

      What’s pathetic is how you and the rest of your knee-jerk posse are attempting to make this sound as if this teacher molested a kindergartener instead of a young woman who is a high school senior and in less than 4 months will (presumably) be attending college where affairs with one’s professor or teacher’s assistant are so run-of-the-mill as to be a decades-old cliche.

      This girl was WELL aware of what she was doing. There is no way in hell you’re going to convince me or anyone else that in this day and age this girl was blindly led into the affair without knowing that her actions and the actions of the teacher were wrong. The fact that it took a 3rd party to rat them out ought to tell you a LOT about this case – such as, neither the teacher nor the student felt the need to back away from the situation. Additionally, the student’s FAMILY did not press any charges, and THAT fact says even more.

      Get a grip, OLD GEEZER. Uh, I mean TIMER. (I figure if you want to continue to insult me, I’ll return the favor.)

  • NRWK Parent

    The Briggs situation was a sub. However, who Ok’s subs? Fay does and if she was a problem there she probably did some things at other schools as well. Also, why was that not in the papers (unless I missed it)?

  • Buford T. Justice

    We can not lay complete fault on the BOE’s door step for this one, although for all the poor decesion making on administrative accountablity we certainly can. We certainly, do, have a completely broken system. No amount of spin or denial can escape the facts staring at us all in the face. Some that ran and won to sit in those seats may now be asking themselves about their own sanity to jump in here. Training for BOE, fantastic. Accountabilty from the classroom all the way up the food chain, yes, yes, yes. Some good things coming our way. Far as Mr. Tate, well, confident that the appropiate measures will be implemented, effectively immediately. Final termination all benefits forefitted upon conviction in a court of law. Unfortunately, for Mr Tate, a clear message must be delievered. Enough is enough. Get it in gear or pack ur gear. No reference letters forwarded.

  • DrGrant

    This is not just on Fay as much as I would like to place the blame there. Don’t get me wrong, she needs to be run out of town as much for her hiring as for being a bad (she’s nasty and condescending), lying (see the social workers pay differences) person. The Briggs situation was a substitute teacher at Briggs middle school and not the high school. There is a severe lack of even average subs in Norwalk. I am not sure she can be held for this. How about she gets held to the other things she has done. While we are at that we can get Tony, Linda Sumpter and her disaster of a school and Lynne Moore and her Stalinesque approach as well.

    • NorwalkSpectator

      I thought Briggs was a High School. I’ve never ever heard of it being referred to as a middle school before. When it did it become a middle school?

      • Icepick

        There has always been a middle school program there, but it’s not technically a ‘middle school’. It’s for kids grades 6-8 who have been expelled from the city’s middle schools.

  • sono resident

    What if he’s not guilty?

  • Piqued Livid

    Sono Resident:

    With all due respect and sincere sympathy to the alleged victim and her family, this is not just about this just about this incident. Too many things
    seem to be too many other things going on and too many other priorities our local education than properly education the children. The ostensible and the semblances do not count. We have dished out too much money to be where we are at present.

    This man may be found not guilty, but this neither makes things right for all that has transpirid in our local school system nor does it take the blame from the strange bedfellows we have there.

    Norwalk is not a place where out-of-towners, or residents for that matter, should feel they can come and dump or flim-flam. WE HOLD OURSELVES IN HIGH ESTEEM AND ANYONE WORKING HERE, GETTING PAID BY OUR TAX DOLLARS, SHOULD KNOW THAT OR RISK NOT WORKING HERE. THAT SHOULD BE OUR SPOKEN OR UNSPOKEN MESSAGE.

  • sono resident

    I don’t want to get involved in the name calling that so often appears in anonymous postings on the internet, but there’s a lot of rhetoric but not much on the specifics. If the teacher here is found guilty or pleads to such he will be severely punished, but I don’t see how that one event should stigmatize a whole school district, there are probably 500+ teachers in the Norwalk School District. I’ve heard some horrendous things about Norwalk Public Schools and some great. One on one when talking of their own personal experiences, most of the people have related positive experiences. Having taught for many years at a celebrated HS in the area. I’d like to take credit for my students success, most of whom score 4 and above on their AP tests but honestly it’s 98% the parents. Of course it’s also easier to put yourself out and give the students extra help if the parents are supportive of the teachers as well. As the Jesuits are rumored to say, if you have em until 5 yrs old, you have them for life. At the same time I have young children who will soon be in school and I am interested in what people say

  • Aaargh!!!!

    Don’t we see what’s happenong? The H R director can’t figure out how to fire people (just ask princials). She can’t figure out how to pay people priperly. She has a termination hearing that’s been lasting for over 18 months. She goes throigh legal fees like penicillin at a free clinic.

    I’ve had it– I demand that the elected board of education investigate all of her incompetence. Its bad enough when she wastes our money, but now her uineptitude is potentilly hurting kids.

    • OHHH!

      Maybe you need to spend some quality time in the classroom with either spell check or a dictionary. Come on – “happenong”, “princials” priperly”, “throigh”; “unieptitude’; and “potentilly”??

      I’m no fan of Fay Ruotolo’s either, but I’m not going to give anyone ammo by not taking the five seconds or so it takes to proof read. I realize that you may not be a fan of the school system either, but let’s not encourage the students by being a poor example.

  • Piqued Livid

    Dear Mr. Kissimis:

    I knew you would give it to us straight and I appreciate you for that.

    I am very sorry to learn of your wife’s trauma, so very sorry and I applaud you for taking the offense, and your duty as a minster, seriously enough to be trained and to make sure your staff is trained to spot abuse and protect children. I’ve seen many a minister who do very little to serve (unless that service is broadcast to the news), let alone with a humble soul.

    Matthew 6: 3-4
    But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your
    right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father
    who sees in secret will reward you.

    And so many want the best seat in the house, who make sure all their titles/credentials (even if fake) are read and known.

    Matthew 23: 3 – 7 from The Message version of the Bible reads:
    You won’t go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful
    about following them. They talk a good line, but they don’t live it. They
    don’t take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It’s all
    spit-and-polish veneer.

    “Instead of giving you God’s Law as food and drink by which you can
    banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down
    like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger
    under these loads, and wouldn’t think of lifting a finger to help. Their
    lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day
    and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church
    dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the
    radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting
    called ‘Doctor’ and ‘Reverend.’

    Verse 23 always makes me laugh; there is much insight into the personality of one who calls others “brood of vipers.”

    Thank you for being true to your mission and turning the focus to the alleged victim. I hope she or her parents or someone who knows them are aware of your offer to help, and to help from the vantage of first-hand knowledge of such ordeals. Some will point the finger at the victim if she was a willing participant, but I still think it was the adult’s–the teacher’s–obligation to not take advantage. I believe there have been incidences in the past including a male HS teacher who took advantage, purporting as a mentor, of teen boys with no father figures by having sex with them and videotaping them in licentious poses or acts.

    HOW DO WE HEAL OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM?
    HOW DO WE GET BACK TO THE MISSION WHICH IS LEARNING AND IGNITING THE LIFE-LONG LOVE OF LEARNING?

    HOW DO WE GET RID OF THE US AGAINST THEM MENTALITY THE VERY SELFISHNESS THAT IS BRINGING DOWN THE SYSTEM?

    HOW DO WE DISCERN IN THE HIRING PROCESS THE TEACHERS WHO ARE MATURE AND UNDERSTAND THAT GUIDING THOUGH CHILD DEVELOPMENT STAGES (NOT HINDERING, NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF AND NOT POINTING FINGERS AT) IS AS MUCH A PART OF TEACHER AS ANYTHING ELSE?

    Finally: http://bible.cc/1_corinthians/15-33.htm

    This includes the veritably decent person who is on a team with teachers who gossip about children and their parents and reveal students’ confidential information. What will eventually happen to that person if around the team too long?

    This includes the person who started out wanting to do good, but is a part of a system that perpetuates the adage “no good deed goes unpunished?” What will happen to that person? Survival? Adaption?

    What happens to the person who wanted to do good, who wanted to guide this generation, but works for a bunch of dysfunctional egomaniacs? How do we use discernment in the hiring process and more importantly how do we send the message that only solid educators are tolerated here?

    Mr. Kissimis: http://bible.cc/job/23-14.htm
    If your steps are TRULY ordered, please always remember your mission even it you have to take an unpopular stance for the overall good in the long run.

    http://bible.cc/matthew/19-14.htm

    JOE? SUE? BOB?

  • Anne Sullivan

    Might I suggest typing in Microsoft word first, and then cutting and pasting into the blog? This will help eliminate typing and grammatical errors…for some reasons common writing errors seem to detract from one’s passionate message.

  • Anne Sullivan

    whoops – sorry about “reasons” – should be reason! I need to take my own advice, lol!

  • Piqued Livid

    Lol right back!

    Unfortunately as a parent and busy person I am usually typing so fast inbetween many distractions that I tend to forget about the judgemental and grammar police and reading over what I’ve written. Point well taken though and will be remembered for next time.

    This will be my last post for a while on this subject. I would much rather hear others’ voices and proposed solutions.

    Mr. Kissimis, thank you for your voice and your realness.

    ALL BEST TO ALL!!

    • OHHHHH’

      Okay, Piqued, I wasn’t sure if you were mocking the school system or just typing really fast without proofing. Your typos were very consistent, so I thought you were mocking the students. No harm, no foul.

  • OLD TIMER

    We need to understand the police did not just go and lock this guy up based on an anonymous tip. Somebody fom the youth bureau investigated the tip, got enough information to show some judge probable cause for a search warrant, went to this guy’s house and searched for, and found, evidence that supports the victim’s story, and then went to some judge with probable cause all spelled out, and got an arrest warrant. Then, and only then, was this guy arrested. He may not be proven guilty when his case goes to trial, but the smart money is on him being guilty and probably trying to negotiate the best deal he can to avoid a trial and get a lighter sentence than he would get if found guilty after a trial. There is an excellent chance that this story, widely circulated, will bring other victims to light.
    If I were to bet, I would bet former Lt Tom Cummings is working on a plea deal, too. Taking chances on the results of a trial when there is a good chance of being found guilty in a child rape case , unless “a pathetic voter” is the judge, is never a smart move.

  • Observer

    Old Timer: why do you insist on calling this student a “victim”?? There is no “victim” here. It was a consensual relationship, and the legal age of consent in Connecticut is sixteen. Furthermore, I have yet to see or hear any report in which this student OR HER FAMILY has accused the teacher of any sort of sexual misconduct, abuse, rape, assault, or molestation. Only the cops have accused him of anything.

  • CT Taxpayer

    Observer,

    She is above the age of consent, but the accused is a teacher. The law is different when one of the individuals is a member of the school staff.

  • sono resident

    Most people accused are guilty but that doesn’t mean that everyone is, nor should we convict in the press. My biggest complaint is the tendency amongst so many to tar the entire Norwalk School District with one probably bad apple. I know the test scores in Norwalk are poor in many areas, but held constant for education and income I doubt there’s a heck of a big difference between Westport/Norwalk/Darien/New Canaan and Stamford. Too many students in Norwalk come from low socioeconomic households where education is not particularly valued and children are left too often on their own. I’m always amazed to see children under 10 (often what looks like under 6) outside walking in SONO at 10PM. The big concern in Norwalk is that well educated successful people pull out of the district.

  • Former Educator

    I have worked in the NPS system. I know many good teachers there. I choose to believe that most are in it for the students and hope to educate them. Some are good at it and some are not so good at it. Some lack the maturity to do well in the classroom and some are so stern that they no longer belong there; however, I am certain that their hearts are in the right place.

    By-the-way, I believe some of you are making reference to “Apathetic voter” as “A pathetic voter” and I find your choice interesting, as an aside – either may be true . . .

    While the law may state that the age of consent is 16, teachers are ethically bound to a higher standard, if for no other reason than the issues of grades and how they are earned. Teachers must never allow themselves to be in a situation which so much as gives the appearance of being inappropriate regarding a relationship with a student.

    Most teachers will encounter students who will flirt with them. Perhaps in an attempt to get a better grade. Perhaps to get something they are missing at home (a pseudo father/mother) since many come to us from single parent homes. A good teacher must not only resist the student’s moves, but point out the inappropriateness to that student.

    Any teacher who would allow this from a student, in or out of the classroom, should be discharged immediately. They have no business around kids, as they themselves lack the maturity to fill an adult role in the life of a child.

    I have some first hand knowledge of the situation at McMahon and know many rumors around the individual involved. I have every reason to believe that several “indicators” of the problem were brought to the attention of the school’s administration. Perhaps they were investigated and deemed to have been resolved, perhaps not. I do find it difficult to believe that with some of what I do know to be fact, that this teacher never received any disciplinary action.

    I also find it interesting that so many want to place blame for this on the BOE and/or Fay. Their competence, or perhaps lack there of, is not solely responsible for this situation. To my knowledge, all of them, as well as all of the administrators at the level of individual schools have all of the right credentials, however obtained.

    What I witnessed first hand was the Peter Principle in action.

    • turfgrrl

      Former Educator: Fay Ruotolo is absolutely culpable considering it is her job to manage personnel. If there was only once incident, one could argue a statistical reasonableness. But here we have someone who has failed the students and teachers of the entire system in so many ways. Her incompetence starts with a failure to provide guidelines and steps for any personnel evaluation, an inadequate payroll processing system, a failure of handling countless complaints about abnormal behaviors in general. Was Stacy Lore such a hard issue to uncover once parents questioned her qualifications? Ruotolo simply denies there’s a problem and ignores it. I for one hope that her resignation is imminent, because I really don’t want to have to spend my next few weeks, digging into every egregious act she has taken, and air them here in detail.

      • yikes

        @Turfgrrl
        Is there something specific Ms. Ruotolo did wrong during this investigation? I’m well aware that she doesn’t have many fans if any but I also think it’s unfair to piggyback her alleged incompetence onto this heinous story as it seems to imply that she was somehow responsible for Mr. Tate’s actions.

  • OLD TIMER

    Observer:
    Legally, willing or not, she is the victim of a crime. The crime is sexual assault, 2nd. The section is 53a-71 and it prohibits sexual intercourse, under any circumstance if “(4) such other person is less than eighteen years old and the actor is such person’s guardian or otherwise responsible for the general supervision of such person’s welfare;” She is 17 now and was younger when it started. He is paid to be “otherwise responsible” for her, as a teacher. The law does set a different standard for certain people. If the guy was her age, not responsible for her, and it was consensual, it would be very different and might not even be a crime. Only he knows how many other young women could complain that the same thing happend when they were under 18 and he was their teacher. Many of them may have believed, as you seem to, that they could not report it, if they went along. The cops don’t write the law, Your elected representatives wrote that one, based on input from a lot of sources. The law is similar on many states now. If this same guy had a relationship with a much younger, but over 18, woman, he would not be in the trouble he is in now. Shame on him, if he has been a teacher for a long while, and doesn’t know the law. You can be very sure cops don’t charge people of anything like this on a whim. They needed considerable evidence to get a judge to issue an arrest warrant. Now, if you or apathetic voter are judges, he has nothing to worry about. Chances are he will get a judge who has daughters and no empathy for this idiot.

  • Inside politics 101

    Call me jaded, but here is what the public needs to appreciate about Fay Ruotolo. For years, she has engaged in payroll and personnel pecadillos, but at least the kids weren’t being hurt. Now,\ her arrogance has finaly gone too far and hurt a kid (I’m sorry, but even at 17, you don’t have the maturity to think clearly when one of your teachers is after you like happened here).

    Fay knew about the rumors, but didn’t investigate and didnt report to DCF (supposedly because she believed the principal who had minimized it) until the police had started their investigation.

    The sub from Briggs, had been dinged by two principals who said that the woman should never be allowed back in a classroom. Those reports go to Fay. Fay’s response– well, it’s tough to find subs, so we really shouldn’t reject anyone.

    Fay keeps playing games to give Marilyn Liberatore one cushy job after another.

    Fay stays around because she was one of Bill Papallo’s gals from his first go-round. She then brought in Dan Cook– and together they watch Tony Dadonna’s back. Look- the BOE had a chance to send a vote of no confidence when they had the grievance about the Dir. of Elem. Ed— what did they do? as usual, Haynie and Colarossi stand up agains the insiders, and all the other sheep just follow right along.

    Like most other people who work for the school dept., I pray that I’ll never have to see Fay to ask for family leave or try to correct a problem with my paycheck.

  • OLD TIMER

    Someone in the school system knew about this, put him “on leave” and reported to DCF, without calling the police. That person should be held accountable, wether it is Fay or somebody much further down in the system. Nobody is saying who tipped off the police, but someone in the school system had the story and a responsibility to report it. I think, technically, reporting to DCF may be enough to keep from being charged as an accessory, but you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know felony sexual assault against a student in your school should be reported to the police. I wonder what level of criminal activity they overlook in that school before calling the police ? Don’t we read about simple fights being reported to the police ? If another student had committed a sexual assault, I bet the police would have been called in a heartbeat.

  • Former Educator

    I believe that if reporting it to DCF is where it begins, that is likely a very proper thing procedurally. They investigate and notify the authorities should their findings indicate a need for an arrest.

    Student on student assault, be it physical, sexual, or otherwise is an entirely different scenario than that of teacher on student, when it comes to the investigation and/or arrest phase.

    At least, that has been my experience, which is not limited to just school systems, but also the addictions counseling field.

  • Observer

    Yes, but we’re not talking “assault” here. Nobody has claimed any sort of assault except the cops, who are REQUIRED to charge Tate with sexual assault in accordance with the State Statutes. Let us not overlook the fact that neither this 17 year old student NOR her family have ACCUSED Tate of anything – not rape; not molestation; not assault.

    Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero.

    That fact and that fact alone ought to tell you armchair lawyers something.

  • CT Taxpayer

    Inside politics 101 – what makes you think that the principal knew about the problem but minimized it?

    Observer – What you should know is that it doesn’t matter if the young woman or a parent presses charges. There is evidence that a crime may have been committed, and so the police and DCF must investigate and prosecute.

  • OLD TIMER

    Observer:
    Please go to CT statutes online and read the statute(53a-71) used in this case. There is no requirement that the victim complain to anyone, anymore than there is a requirement that a 13 yr old must file a complaint if she is the victim. The law is written to deal with the reality, learned over many years of experience, that a girl under 18 who has intercourse with a teacher is not going to tell. Most of time, the teacher tells the child nobody will believe him/her.
    The law, in the interest of protecting shool children from sexual exploitation by teachers, with enormous power in the relationship between student and teacher, makes intercourse between a 17 year old student and a 53 year old teacher a serious crime. If you had daughters, I am sure you would support the concept, but it includes boys and girls under age 18. Don’t try to convince us here there is no crime, talk to the girl’s parents. But first, read the statute. Don’t be amazed to find there is much more to this story. The police will not issue press releases every time another victim is identified.

    Former educator:
    You are correct, the law strictly requires notification to DCF, and it is the correct thing to do. However, calling DCF does not absolve whoever made that call from the responsibility to call the police immediately when a serious crime like this has been committed in your school, and the victim is a student, in my opinion. I am sure any of you with children or grandchildren in the school system would be outraged if one of yours was the victim and the school sent the teacher home after telling him he was in serious trouble and was being reported. How would they explain it if he had run ? Polanski ran.

    • Observer

      Apathetic Voter has already said it better than I could, and it bears repeating.

      “What’s pathetic is how you and the rest of your knee-jerk posse are attempting to make this sound as if this teacher molested a kindergartener instead of a young woman who is a high school senior and in less than 4 months will (presumably) be attending college where affairs with one’s professor or teacher’s assistant are so run-of-the-mill as to be a decades-old cliche.

      This girl was WELL aware of what she was doing. There is no way in hell you’re going to convince me or anyone else that in this day and age this girl was blindly led into the affair without knowing that her actions and the actions of the teacher were wrong. The fact that it took a 3rd party to rat them out ought to tell you a LOT about this case – such as, neither the teacher nor the student felt the need to back away from the situation. Additionally, the student’s FAMILY did not press any charges, and THAT fact says even more.”

    • John

      Mandated reporters are required to notify DCF if any child is endangered. They are not required to notify police of suspected crimes. No person is required to report any crime they suspect to the police department unless it is a gun that is stolen from them.

  • CT Taxpayer

    Observer,

    Once again:

    1. It makes no difference what you think about the girl’s culpability. The law says that this was an illicit relationship. If you think that is unreasonable, campaign to change the law. Until then, the courts are going to follow the law. I don’t know anything about this young lady, and neither do you.

    2. Referring to this as “ratting out” the teacher and the student is very unfortunate because it is putting blame on the person who was acting responsibly. By the way, if it was a school system employee, a social services employee outside the school system, a police officer or any of a number of other categories of people who are considered “mandated reporters,” the person would have been guilty of a crime for failing to report.

    Like it or not, these are the facts.

    • Observer

      Old Timer, once again you have completely missed the point.

      I am not arguing about “the law”. “The law” is charging the teacher with the only thing he can be charged with under the circumstances. Regardless, the family of the student and the student herself have not accused him of anything. He is not being charged with rape or sodomy or molestation or abuse or anything other than the only charge the State can throw at him at this time.

      This “immature teenager” is only a few months away from being a college student and who knows how close to the age of 18. Face facts. In a matter of 12-14 weeks she would have magically morphed from “immature teenager” to “adult” and this situation would be nothing more than a tempest in a teapot.

      As for her “not wise in the workings of the real world beyond high school” , you don’t honestly believe that excuses HER from knowing that engaging in this relationship was wrong, do you? Are you seriously claiming that you believe that as an “immature teenager” of 17 years – almost 18; almost a legal adult in every sense of the word – that HER culpability in this situation is null and void simply because she’s a few days/weeks/months away from turning 18?

      If you do, I am seriously frightened for your children and any other children under your care.

  • Former Educator

    Exactly!

    Additionally, the person who reported it to DCF very likely reported based upon a suspicion stemming from overheard or rumored encounters, which is the correct path for them to have taken.

    IF, they knew first hand because they witnessed it, the reporting to police could and probably should have been the route to take.

    And, by-the-way, Observer. I don’t know that the family knew anything about it.
    Regarding the student being “well aware”, she was an immature teenager, not wise in the workings of the real world beyond high school. Some may argue that she was, but the courts will definitely not see it that way.

  • OLD TIMER

    Observer:
    I am missing the point ? Did you bother to read the statute ? Under the law, it makes no difference if the girl was willing, or if she filed a complaint. In the student-teacher relationship, if she is under 18, sex with a teacher is a serious crime for the teacher and the student is the victim. What makes you so sure she didn’t file a complaint, in a sworn statement, when she talked to the p0lice ? A lot of us may believe that law is not entirely fair to middle aged men, tempted by young girls, but that opinion does not count. Do you think the law should be changed to make 17 yr old girls fair game for middle age teachers ? The statute sets arbitrary rules based on birth dates, and his chosen profession(and others). He is not the first to have made this same mistake. If these same two people had consensual sex and he was not her teacher it wouldn’t be a crime. Can you imagine his daughters reaction to this story ?

  • Observer

    Old Timer writes Under the law, it makes no difference if the girl was willing, or if she filed a complaint. In the student-teacher relationship, if she is under 18, sex with a teacher is a serious crime for the teacher and the student is the victim. ”

    *sigh* You need to adjust your reading comprehension, Old Timer. I am not arguing about this; in fact, I am AGREEING with you. Even if the teacher had a signed letter from both parents ALLOWING him to have a relationship with this student, he would STILL be charged with this BECAUSE THAT IS THE WAY THE LAW IS WRITTEN AND THERE IS NOTHING ELSE HE CAN BE CHARGED WITH AT THIS TIME!!!!! The cops had to charge him with SOMETHING, and since they can’t charge him with rape or molestation they HAVE to charge him according to the State Statutes. What is it that’s biting your butt about this?

    Old Timer writes “What makes you so sure she didn’t file a complaint, in a sworn statement, when she talked to the p0lice ?”

    Because it would have been in the police reports and thus reported in the media, that’s why.

    Old Timer writes “Do you think the law should be changed to make 17 yr old girls fair game for middle age teachers ? ”

    Of course not.

    Let me ask YOU a question. Do you think that simply because this girl is 17 years old she should be allowed to walk away from this entire thing scot-free and not have to own up to her own culpability in this situation? Do you think that simply because she is 17 she gets a “Get out of responsibility free” card? Apparently you do, judging by your inane commentary.

  • CT Taxpayer

    Observer, what do you think the crime should be for the girl? The law pertaining to a teacher’s role was written to protect a student from possibly having a teacher use influence/authority/coercion in order to have sex with the student.

    You say that the girl should take responsibility for her role, but neither of us knows anything about the student. Was she fully responsible here? I can’t say that she was or that she wasn’t. You can’t either.

    • Observer

      That’s right; we can’t. Any more than we can say the teacher was or wasn’t 100% responsible either.

      Guess you’re just from that generation of people who think the woman is always innocent and the man is always guilty. Everything is always black and white to you people. There is more to this than meets the eye, and it is extremely apparent to all but the densest person. There is absolutely no way, in this day and age, with all the education out there in the world about what to do if someone – ANYONE – tries to involve you in a sexual relationship against your will – no way that you can convince anyone that this student did not know exactly what she was getting into right from the get-go. Or that it was impossible for a young woman months away from being considered a legal adult to be unable to put a stop to it at any point in time if she wanted to. You would have to be completely brain-dead to believe that she was led blindly into this situation with no idea of what she herself was doing.

      As a high school senior only a matter of a few months away from going to college, she knew EXACTLY what was taking place. And she knew EXACTLY what to do and where to go and who to talk to in order to stop it. And she did NOT stop it. She is just as culpable, responsible, and as much at fault as Tate is.

      I don’t presume to know what sort of “crime” she should be charged with. What I do know is that she is not innocent. She was a by-all-accounts willing partner in this situation and should be dealt with accordingly, not allowed to claim “victimhood” when she was no victim. “Victimhood” implies no ability to see right from wrong, being forced, or coerced in some way. The fact that this relationship was long-term and ongoing (according to the media accounts, which would have gotten their information from the police reports) tells you right there that this young woman was a partner to it and in no way a victim.

  • URGENT UPDATE

    Just one day left, ONE DAY, to have a chance at the substantial RTTT funding resources.

    Please contact everyone you know relatives, friends and neighbors and get them to contact our representatives in Hartford ( immediately) to get this done.

    Hartford has left Nowalk students behind far too long. Lets get this bill passed tonight and get money into the classrooms of Norwalk students.

    This is too important, too much money at stake.

    This is it.

    Our last chance to bring millions into our district.

    Email blast to all.

    Hit it people.

    You, yes you, reading this, you HAVE the power, USE IT!!

    Use it NOW!!!

    State Representative Thomas Gaffey
    Chairman of the Education committee co sponsor
    Email – Gaffey@senatedems.ct.gov
    Toll-free hotline 1-800-842-1420

    State Representative Andy Fleischmann
    Co-Chairman of the Education committee and co sponsor of the legislation, being written this weekend.
    Email – Andrew.Fleischmann@cga.ct.gov
    Hotline – 860.240.0420

    State Representative Larry Caffero of the 142nd district:
    Email – Lawrence.Cafero@housegop.state.ct.us
    Toll free 800-842-1423

    State Senator Bob Duff for the 25th district;
    Email – Duff@senatedems.ct.gov
    Telephone – Toll free – 800-842-1420

  • OLD TIMER

    Observer:
    You are making a lot of assumptions. Based on just what was in the papers, it is possible the 17 yr old was the one that tipped the police and you can bet the farm she told somebody in the school system or he would not have been placed on leave (suspended) and DCF would not have been called. You can also bet she gave the police a sworn statement that was used to get the warrants.
    We agree 17 yr old students are not, and should not ever be, fair game for middle age teachers. In this case, this teacher felt this 17 yr old was fair game and there are probably many others. Does she share some blame ? The state of CT doesn’t seem to think so. The law does not differentiate between a 17 yr old student and a much younger student when a teacher is taking advantage. The law does recognize the possibility of legal consensual sex with a 17yr old, under some circumstances, but not with her middle age teacher.
    You seem to be making up legal theory here. Please read the statute and accept that is the relevant law in this case, wether you and I think it is fair or not. If she was your 17 yr old daughter, would you be quite so sympathetic to this poor teacher ? Would you want her also charged with some crime ?

  • Observer

    If this was my daughter you’d better believe she’d be punished six ways to Sunday, especially if she shared responsibility for the affair. And who says I’m sympathetic to the teacher? All I’m saying is that it takes two to tango, and from all accounts so far, this 17 year old is far from the babe in the woods that many here would like to make her out to be. I don’t know if you’ve been reading the various town blogs and newspaper websites, but the general consensus of the commentary is running 2 to 1 in favor of the girl being, if not the instigator, then a willing and eager partner. And we all know the old saying “where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” I’d be far more inclined to be sympathetic to the 17 year old if there had been a charge of rape or molestation, but there doesn’t appear to be any such charge or it would have been spread all over the media just like the charges against that police officer Cummings were.

  • OLD TIMER

    You didn’t read the statute, did you ? He is charged with sexual assault and that is rape. The word rape is no longer used in the sex offense laws. His arrest is all over the media, much like the coverage Cummings got. Do you have the same problem with Cummings arrest because his victims were old enough to know what they were doing and, in your opinion, only completely innocent victims who get beat up have the right to complain ?
    If you have daughters and they read your comments here, they must be horrified. You have said your daughter would be “punished six ways to Sunday” (whatever that means) if she were a 17 yr old rape victim and there was no proof of force or coercion, and the man was her teacher. Punishing her for reporting she had been sexually assaulted could get you locked up.

  • John

    It is perfectly legal for a 17 year old to have sex with anyone they wish who is also old enough to consent. It is also perfectly legal for anyone to have sex with a 17 year old as long as they are not a teacher, coach, parent, or anyone else responsible for their care. If this man was a garbage collector, mechanic, or even a teacher in another school district, it would be perfectly fine. It is ok for a 103 year old man to have sex with a 16 year old as long as he is not responsible for their care. The law is very specific, and he has no defense if he had sexual contact with the girl. The law may not be fair, but it is very specific and all teachers know what the law states and what their liability is. No excuses for this teacher.

  • Apathetic Voter

    Nobody is giving any excuses to the teacher. However, every single one of you is more than ready to give any excuse under the sun to the girl who is just as culpable because she knew what she was doing was wrong and did not walk away from the situation. According to all accounts it was a mutually agreeable, long-term, ongoing situation. And it cannot be that unless both parties agree to it.

    We teach our children from the day they are able to speak how to tell us when they have been touched by another person. This 17 year old has been indoctrinated with this information for 99% of her life. There is absolutely no way that she did not know that encouraging or participating in this affair on her part was wrong. Yet you are all willing to give her a free pass on it simply because it was a teacher who was involved. Oh, it can’t possibly be the girl’s fault! Oh, she certainly didn’t have anything to do with it!

    There have been at least a half dozen cases reported in the news within the past year in which female teachers had affairs with male students. Yet isn’t it funny how nobody seems to care whether or not the male students were of age or not. In fact in many circles a boy having an affair with a much older woman is seen as a “badge of honor” and a rite of passage. You think girls are any different? No one here has read Nabokov? Or seen the movie “Poison Ivy”? Guess you never heard Sting sing “Don’t Stand So Close To Me.” Yet everybody is oh so willing to give this 17 year old the benefit of so much doubt.

    And Old Timer, the teacher is charged with “assault” because according to the Statutes, that is the only charge they can charge him with. Even if he never touched her and he can prove it, he’d still be charged with assault because that is what the law says. If you accidentally poked a woman in the breast on your way out of a crowded bus, she could charge you with assault, but it doesn’t mean a rape occurred. It’s just what the law says is the allowable charge. If there was a rape involved, the charge would SAY rape.

  • OLD TIMER

    I know enough about cops to know there would not have been an arrest without a sworn statement from the 17 yr old victim about the facts of the case. I read well enough to know, from the newspaper stories, that the police first got a search warrant for his home and found evidence corroborating her story. After that, and talking with him, they got an arrest warrant, and arrested him. It was not only the police that believed there was a crime and she was a victim, but a judge, possibly two judges, had the same belief. I know enough about cops to know they have not released everything in their case file. I don’t know how many other girls came forward with similar complaints, but I bet there were several. Nobody decides all at once, at his age, that 17 yr old female students are fair game. There have, almost certainly, been others. We will see how many now go to the police and/or file suits.

  • OLD TIMER

    Apathetic Voter
    Have you read the statute ? Sexual assault is the term they use now for rape.
    Even if she was a willing participant, the law says, in effect, she is not capable of consent in a situation with her teacher, just as it says a much younger child is not capable of consent, under any circumstance, with anyone. We are not making excuses for her, the law says she is a victim who has been exploited by this middle age teacher.

  • Perry Mason calling ET.

    Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. Here comes the judge. This issue is for a court of law. If we didn’t have major issues in front of us we could all jump on the gossip mill and try the accused right here. However, this is not Mayberry. Staying focused on the major issues we are facing has to be the utmost priority. If the accused is found guilty as charged in our courts, the appropiate measures will be taken, rest assured. If the accused is found innocent, well, the reputation of the accused, as well as the suspious eye’s, are already poured in the casting mold. If things were not in such a disasterous state of neglect with fisical civil war battlefield type surgery conditions occuring before our eyes, than this would be the hot news. The budget battles get monotonous but they are very serious. The city is pushing BOE. BOE is pushing the union and the union is pushing back. Are the knees of the union begining to buckle under the weight? Will BET uncover all the shells? Will the highest paid city employee’s do his and her parts? Is ANYONE in this system worth 2 hundered g’s, A YEAR, plus benefits? And what is going on in Hartford anyway? Someone posted that we have just hours to get the legislation passed, so what is the hold up? We need the RTTT dough, who is holding up the line?
    Meanwhile back in sleepy zombiewalk ct a terrorist from another battlefield silenty strolls amongst the zombies even taking the zombies jobs in order to finance the evil plots against the empire. and so it goes……

    Who knows if the zombies will awaken?

    Stay tuned, same channel, same time..

  • John

    Sec. 53a-71. Sexual assault in the second degree: Class C or B felony. (a) A person is guilty of sexual assault in the second degree when such person engages in sexual intercourse with another person and: (1) Such other person is thirteen years of age or older but under sixteen years of age and the actor is more than three years older than such other person; or (2) such other person is mentally defective to the extent that such other person is unable to consent to such sexual intercourse; or (3) such other person is physically helpless; or (4) such other person is less than eighteen years old and the actor is such person’s guardian or otherwise responsible for the general supervision of such person’s welfare; or (5) such other person is in custody of law or detained in a hospital or other institution and the actor has supervisory or disciplinary authority over such other person; or (6) the actor is a psychotherapist and such other person is (A) a patient of the actor and the sexual intercourse occurs during the psychotherapy session, (B) a patient or former patient of the actor and such patient or former patient is emotionally dependent upon the actor, or (C) a patient or former patient of the actor and the sexual intercourse occurs by means of therapeutic deception; or (7) the actor accomplishes the sexual intercourse by means of false representation that the sexual intercourse is for a bona fide medical purpose by a health care professional; or (8) the actor is a school employee and such other person is a student enrolled in a school in which the actor works or a school under the jurisdiction of the local or regional board of education which employs the actor; or (9) the actor is a coach in an athletic activity or a person who provides intensive, ongoing instruction and such other person is a recipient of coaching or instruction from the actor and (A) is a secondary school student and receives such coaching or instruction in a secondary school setting, or (B) is under eighteen years of age; or (10) the actor is twenty years of age or older and stands in a position of power, authority or supervision over such other person by virtue of the actor’s professional, legal, occupational or volunteer status and such other person’s participation in a program or activity, and such other person is under eighteen years of age.

    Life would be much easier if the state would set an age of majority that was consistent across the board. As it is, your are considered an adult in criminal court at 17, and adult to drink and smoke at 18, an adult to have sex at 16, an adult to get married at 18, an adult to go to war at 18, an adult to get a gun permit at 21, and an adult to sign legal contracts at 18. They should just make it that you are an adult at age 18 with all the rights, obligations, and consequences that go along with it.

  • Apathetic Voter

    Sez Old Timer, “Sexual assault is the term they use now for rape.”

    Oh really? Then explain to me why the word “rape” is never mentioned in the media accounts of this teacher/student relationship.

    Yet on the front page of The Hour today (and online) we have a story about a Guatamalan woman who was held hostage by her supposed boyfriend, who is charged with, among other things, sexual assault (just like the BMHS teacher) and the word “rape” is used a minimum of THREE TIMES in the article, including the headline?

    • NorwalkSpectator

      From what I have been told, “sexual assault” is a general term that covers everything from an unwanted hug to actual, forcible rape, whereas “rape” is defined as sexual intercourse. I don’t know how the media distinguishes between the two, but that is what I have heard.

  • OLD TIMER

    A pathetic voter:
    You didn’t read the statute(s) on sex offenses, even after it was posted here. News stories are not a good place to find the law. The answer to your question is the reporter’s choice of words. Rape is a widely known word. When rape was used in CT statutes, there were several crimes included. One, commonly called statuatory rape, meant sex with a minor.
    There is another story today about a local minister charged with rape of a 13 yr old relative, in Queens, NY. NY state still uses the word rape in their statutes, Connecticut does not.
    Somebody, using a pseudonym similar to yours, asks, in the comments, what the BIG DEAL is about the story of the Guatamalan girlfriend rape & torture. Was that you ? Is that a serious question ?

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